In Capistrano, a mission of change feeds revival

Jan. 24, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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The archway facing the intersection of Ortega Highway and Camino Capistrano will be the main entrance to the Mission, while the current temporary entrance will be the entrance for bigger groups. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The gate house and Mission San Juan Capistrano entry in 1925. SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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During the restoration of the room, many paintings dating back to around the 1920's were discovered under the paint that was scraped off, according to Executive Director Mechelle Lawrence-Adams. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The archway facing the intersection of Ortega Highway and Camino Capistrano will be the main entrance to the Mission, while the current temporary entrance will be the entrance for bigger groups. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A nearly century-old gatehouse at Mission San Juan Capistrano is undergoing a facelift that will transform the façade for the hundreds of thousands who visit the landmark every year.

The work is being done to make the historic mission, one of 21 in California, a coveted destination for local and regional visitors while preserving it for generations to come, mission officials said.

The three-year, $3.3 million Gatehouse Preservation Project includes a rehabilitation of the original 1919 gatehouse. There is also an improved group entryway, an enlarged public plaza with benches and bike racks, and a gift shop.

While many favor the mission's improvements, the Capistrano Historical Alliance Committee wonders if the gatehouse project is too big.

The mission's gatehouse project is the first private project of a larger city effort to reinvigorate and restore the city's historic downtown. The entire downtown plan covers 150 acres. The goal is to preserve and enhance the town center as the civic and commercial heart of the city. Designers plan to create a pedestrian-oriented public realm with "outdoor rooms" where people can congregate. The plan also includes ways to rebalance transportation and parking to coexist with pedestrian, bicycle, transit and equestrian access.

With the project nearing completion, the city's Planning Commission will decide on the sign program for the front gate that mission Executive Director Mechelle Lawrence-Adams said is in keeping with the mission's look. The brown hand-painted lettering was a point of discussion last week when the city's Design Review Commission reviewed it. The commission voted in favor of it, though one commissioner questioned whether it fit with the mission's historical context.

In early March, the plaza and group entry will open to the public.

The gift store, which will support the mission, should be completed by July.

More than 300,000 visitors each year come to the city to tour the mission. More than 50,000 fourth-graders statewide each year learn about its history by touring the grounds.

The Mission Preservation Foundation says the improvements will create a grander experience at the mission and will add to the downtown's historic renovation under way.

The foundation, which raised the money for the gatehouse preservation from private donations, is made up of businesspeople countywide. The group was founded by Tony Moiso, president and chief executive of Rancho Mission Viejo. It's now headed up by George O'Connell.

Restoration at the gatehouse, built in 1919, includes detailed work by art experts and has resulted in some remarkable discoveries, said Lawrence-Adams. Local craftsmen are using recycled tiles, stone and bricks to create its original look and to blend with the mission's architectural style.

Art experts unveiled a 20th century fresco while working on the inside walls, Lawrence-Adams said. The fresco has since been restored.

The mission's gift shop, which will have access from the public plaza, will help raise money to preserve the Sala building. This 18th-century building is the last of the original spaces at the mission in need of conservation. When completed, the Sala building will provide more museum space.

Despite its new construction, the gift shop is built to blend with the architectural style found in the mission, built in 1776.

Details such as hand-troweled finishes, hand-carved peeler logs, millwork, and stone are used to reflect the Great Stone Church, Lawrence-Adams said. To create greater authenticity, 1920s-era tiles salvaged from a Catholic church that burned to the ground will become the roof.

Inside the gift shop, guests can browse books and artifacts detailing the historical significance of the mission.

The shop will also sell crosses, jewelry, garden items and candles. Visitors who seek comfort at the mission can visit a devotional room at the gift shop where Gregorian chants will be played. The shop will close an hour after the mission closes to encourage visitors to linger and stay in town longer.

Not everyone is in favor of the changes. Members of the Capistrano Historical Alliance Committee question the changes in size at the front gate.

"The massiveness of the new entrance stops the eye and almost appears to be a barrier. So much of the charm of Mission San Juan Capistrano is captured in the old photographs, and for that, we are very grateful," Jerry Nieblas said. "However, we also realize that the prior entrance was small and updating was necessary to accommodate future museum space. The new entrance seems to block the visual invitation that existed before – there was a sense that the mission was connected to the community."

The mission's gate project coincided with a couple of the short-term suggestions in the downtown master plan, such as widening the sidewalk across from the mission, adding flowers, trees and streetscape furniture.

"Camino Capistrano will look more like a Main Street," said Laura Freese, former council member and proponent of the city's efforts for the new downtown plan. "There will be more trees, flowers and attractive lighting. People will be able to meander down the streets as well as sit quietly and take in the beauty of the city."

The history of the mission's gatehouse and surrounding walls reaches back more than a century. Admission to the mission in 1916 would have set you back a dime. And since the 1940s, not much has changed – until now. Starting in March, a new gateway entrance will usher visitors into the historic landmark where they can soon browse a new gift shop.

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